Internet advertisement method and system for distributing commercial sample through membership-based off-line shop based on authentication key issued to target customer on-line

ABSTRACT

An Internet advertisement method and system that issues an authentication key for enabling selected target customers to receive a commercial sample at a membership-based offline store by performing an advertisement in the form of a banner on a web page of an online market, such as an Internet shopping mall, such that an advertiser can conveniently satisfy needs of customers desiring to purchase goods after receiving the sample without delivering the sample, a targeting goods advertisement can be effectively performed, membership-based offline stores can be publicized, and increasing visits from customers can lead to an increase in sales. The Internet advertisement method includes providing an advertisement including information on providing a sample, and generating an authentication key for enabling a customer terminal selecting the advertisement and requesting a sample of advertised goods to receive the sample at an offline store.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityunder to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/383,439, filed on Mar. 24,2009, which claims priority to and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2008-0028371, filed on Mar. 27, 2008, the disclosureof which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an Internet advertisement method andsystem, and more particularly, to an Internet advertisement method andsystem that issue an authentication key for enabling selected targetcustomers to receive a commercial sample at a membership-based offlinestore by performing an advertisement in the form of a banner on a webpage of an online market, such as an Internet shopping mall, such thatan advertiser can conveniently satisfy needs of customers desiring topurchase goods after receiving the sample without directly deliveringthe sample, a targeting advertisement can be effectively performed,publicity of membership-based offline stores can be given, andincreasing visits from customers can lead to an increase in sales.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

On numerous Internet web sites such as Internet shopping malls, thereare advertisements in the form of banners with which advertiserspublicize goods. Advertisements are intended to promote customers topurchase goods after reading contents of the advertisements. However,most of the advertisements do not sufficiently explain the contents ofthe advertisement and many advertisements exaggerate the contents.Accordingly, customers may doubt whether the real goods are likely todiffer from the content of the advertisements and may be hesitant topurchase the goods. Thus, most customers ignore the advertisements.

For example, a buyer purchases goods using a method as shown in FIG. 1at an online market. The buyer reads content of an advertisement relatedto desired goods while looking around an online market such as anInternet shopping mall in order to purchase the goods (S110). The buyermay encounter the advertisement in another website or any frequentlyused online market. Where the content of the advertisement stimulatesthe buyer to purchase the goods, the buyer searches for a list of goodsfor sale of the advertiser at a subscribed online market (S120), selectsgoods of interest from the list (S130), pays a price of the goods andrequests the purchase (S140), and receives the goods through delivery(S150, S160).

However, in a typical process in which a buyer reads an advertisementand purchases goods, the buyer must be able to believe the content ofthe advertisement. The buyer receiving the goods may return the receivedgoods and request a refund if they are different from the advertisedgoods. Accordingly, there is a need for an Internet advertisement methodand system in many web sites including online markets that enable buyersto easily receive a desired sample from an advertiser and to purchasethe goods corresponding to the sample for effective advertisements onthe web site.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an Internet advertisement methodand system that are capable of performing an advertisement in the formof a banner on a web page of an online market, such as an Internetshopping mall, for enabling selected target customers to receive acommercial sample at a membership-based offline store, such that atargeting advertisement of goods can be effectively performed,membership-based offline stores can be publicized, and increasing visitsfrom customers can lead to an increase in sales.

The present invention is also directed to an Internet advertisementmethod and system that enable a target customer to easily receive acommercial sample, using an authentication key or membership card issuedthrough an advertisement on a web page, at a desired membership-basedoffline store without requesting an advertiser to directly deliver thesample, thereby conveniently satisfying needs of customers desiring topurchase goods after receiving the commercial sample.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided anInternet advertisement method including: providing an advertisementincluding information on providing a sample; and generating anauthentication key for enabling a customer terminal selecting theadvertisement and requesting a sample of advertised goods to receive thesample at an offline store.

The method may further include, prior to generating the authenticationkey, providing a sample application form to the customer terminal; andgenerating the authentication key in response to a notification that thesample application form has been completed from the customer terminal.

Generating the authentication key may include receiving log-ininformation of a customer from a customer terminal and determiningwhether the customer is a target customer; and generating theauthentication key corresponding to the customer terminal to the targetcustomer according to the determination results.

The method may further include, prior to providing an advertisement,registering a target information profile in a database, the targetinformation profile indicating target customers selected and designatedin advance by an advertiser. Here, determining whether the customer is atarget customer may include comparing the target information profilewith membership information based on the log-in information from thecustomer terminal to make the determination.

The target information profile may include at least one of sex, age, andterminal access region of customers designated as objects to which thesample is to be provided.

Registering the target information profile may include: registeringinformation on at least one offline store in the database. The methodmay further comprise, prior to generating an authentication key,providing the offline store information in a sample application form tothe customer terminal and selecting an offline store where the customerdesires to receive the sample of the advertised goods when the sampleapplication form is being filled out using the customer terminal.

The method may further include, after generating an authentication key,notifying the franchise terminal of whether the authentication issuccessfully performed, in response to a request for verification of theauthentication key from the franchise terminal.

The franchise terminal may input the authentication key issued to thecustomer terminal and transmit the request for verification of theauthentication key to a server using at least one medium from among avirtual area network (VAN), an open market seller management system, apoint of sale (POS), an automatic replying system (ARS), a cellularphone, and a barcode reader, or may input membership information andtransmit a request for verification of an authentication key managed bythe server to the server using the at least one medium.

The method may further include, after notifying, receiving anotification that provision of the sample has been completed includingdetails of sample provision to the customer visiting the offline store,from the franchise terminal.

The method may further include, after receiving the notification ofsample provision completion, settling advertising expenditure accordingto a commission policy. The commission policy may be determined based onan issue number of the authentication key generated by the online marketor verified in response to a request for verification from the franchiseor based on the number of samples provided by the offline store.

The Internet advertisement method may be utilized at an online marketfor brokering goods registration by sellers, goods purchase by buyers,and delivery of paid goods.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan Internet advertisement system including: a target advertisementmanager for providing a target advertisement including information onproviding a sample; and an authentication key generator for generatingan authentication key for enabling a customer terminal selecting thetarget advertisement and requesting a sample of advertised goods toreceive the sample at an offline store.

The system may further include: a database for managing at least one ofa target information profile for selecting and designating targetcustomers in advance by an advertiser, information on at least oneoffline store, and a sample application form for requesting the sample.Here, the target advertisement manager may transmit the offline storeinformation in the sample application form provided to the customerterminal. When a notification that the sample application form has beencompleted indicating a selected franchise where the customer desires toreceive the sample of advertised goods is received from the customerterminal, the authentication key generator may generate theauthentication key.

The authentication key generator may request the customer terminal tolog in upon receipt of the request for the sample, and comparemembership information based on log-in information from the customerterminal with the target information profile, and when it is determinedthat the customer is a target customer, the target advertisement managermay provide the sample application form to the customer terminal.

The Internet advertisement system may further include: a sample receiptauthenticator for notifying the franchise terminal of whether theauthentication is successfully performed in response to a request forverification of the authentication key from the franchise terminal.

The Internet advertisement system may further include: an advertisingexpenditure settling unit for settling advertising expenditure accordingto a commission policy, when the authentication is successfullyperformed and a notification that provision of the sample has beencompleted including details of sample provision to the customer visitingthe offline store is received from the franchise terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in theart by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a conventional method for purchasinggoods through an advertisement at an online market;

FIG. 2 illustrates an Internet advertisement system applied to an onlinemarket according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates relationships among a customer (buyer), an advertiser(seller), an online market, and a franchise according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an online market server as a web serveraccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a sample application form;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an authentication key issue list screenof an advertiser terminal or a franchise terminal;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an Internet advertisement methodaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a web page including a targetadvertisement with sample provision according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While thepresent invention is shown and described in connection with exemplaryembodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat various modifications can be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates an Internet advertisement system 200 applied to anonline market according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. Referring to FIG. 2, the Internet advertisement system 200according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention mayinclude a network 210, an online market server 220, a buyer terminal(i.e., customer terminal) 230, a seller terminal (i.e., advertiserterminal) 240, and a franchise terminal 250.

Here, the network 210 may be wired or wireless Internet. Alternatively,the network 210 may be a core network integrated with a wired publicnetwork, a wireless mobile communication network, or a portableInternet. The online market server 220 manages an online shopping mallover the network 210 and brokers goods transaction between a seller anda buyer. The online market server 220 manages a web page required formanaging a shopping mall, through which the online market server 220receives a variety of the seller's goods to be registered from theseller terminal 240 over the network 210 and provides the registeredgoods to the buyer terminal 230 over the network 210 so that the buyercan purchase desired ones of the goods. The online market server 220 mayperform payment on goods selected for purchase by the buyer from a listof the goods, notify the seller of a guide to the paid goods fordelivery of the goods to the buyer, provide position tracking ortracking result inquiry service for the goods being delivered, andmanage necessary web pages.

In the present invention, particularly, the online market server 220 mayperform an advertisement in the form of a banner on the web page toprovide a commercial sample to selected customers at a membership-basedoffline store, while managing the shopping mall. Accordingly, atargeting advertisement for the goods of an advertiser (seller) can beeffectively performed, the membership-based offline store can bepublicized, and increasing visits from customers can lead to increase insales.

Specifically, the online market server 220 in the online market system200 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention mayprovide a target advertisement including information on providing asample on the web page, and generate an authentication key (e.g., Arabicnumerals, a discernible text, or barcode information) for enabling thecustomer terminal 230, which selects the target advertisement andrequests the sample of the advertised goods, to receive the sample atthe offline store. As described in detail below, the targetadvertisement is registered by an advertiser (i.e., seller) to publicizethe goods. The advertiser may register a target information profile forselecting and designating target customers in advance, and offline storeinformation, along with the content of the advertisement, in the onlinemarket server 220, using the advertiser terminal 240. The authenticationkey may be issued to target customers corresponding to sex, age, andaccess regions defined by the advertiser in the target informationprofile. When the authentication key is verified by through thefranchise terminal 250, the sample may be provided to the customers, forexample, by a franchise clerk.

The buyer terminal 230, the seller terminal 240 and the franchiseterminal 250 are generally computers, such as desktop personal computers(PCs), notebook PCs, and the like, but are not limited thereto and maybe any wired or wireless communication devices that can access theonline market server 220 over the network 210 and use bidirectionalgoods transaction brokerage service. For example, the buyer terminal230, the seller terminal 240 and the franchise terminal 250 may bemobile terminals, such as cellular phones, personal communicationsservices (PCS) phones, or synchronous/asynchronous International MobileTelecommunication (IMT)-2000 terminals that communicate over wireless orportable Internet. Alternatively, they may be any wired and wirelesshome appliances/communication devices having a user interface foraccessing the online market server 220, such as palm PCs, personaldigital assistants (PDAs), smart phones, wireless application protocol(WAP) phones, mobile game machines (e.g., mobile play-stations), etc.

In particular, the franchise terminal 250 may use a virtual area network(VAN), an open market seller management system, a point of sale (POS),an automatic replying system (ARS), and a barcode reader connected viathe Internet, a public network, or any dedicated line, as well as thewireless terminal such as the cellular phone, to verify theauthentication key. When the authentication key is input or whenmembership information is read from a membership card and transmitted tothe online market server 220 using the VAN, the open market sellermanagement system, the POS, the ARS, or the barcode reader, the onlinemarket server 220 may compare it with an authentication key managed in adatabase to verify the authentication key. Since the VAN, the POS, theARS, and the barcode reader are well known in the art, detaileddescriptions thereof will be omitted. The open market seller managementsystem is managed by the online market server 220 so that seller-relatedinformation, such as membership information, goods/advertisement/targetinformation profile registration, sale information, payment information,delivery information, advertisement information, settling information,can be processed in an open market online.

FIG. 3 illustrates relationships among a customer (buyer), an advertiser(seller), an online market, and a franchise according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, when theseller registers goods to advertise or sell the goods in an onlinemarket or registers the content of the advertisement (e.g., images,videos, and the like), a target information profile (e.g., sex, age, anda terminal access region of customers designated as objects to which asample is to be provided), and franchise information in the onlinemarket, the online market introduces the registered goods to a shoppingmall, brokers transactions with the buyer, provides targetadvertisements to a web page, and issues an authentication key (e.g.,Arabic numerals, a discernible text, or barcode information) forenabling target customers to receive the sample of the advertised goodsat an offline store, such as a franchise, through log-in, when thecustomers recognize and select the target advertisement to request thesample on the site. Accordingly, the buyer submits the receivedauthentication key or membership card to the franchise and requests thesample. The offline franchise contracted to sell goods in various waysin a convenience store, a supermarket, a stationery store, a postoffice, a department store, a cosmetics store, etc. may provide thesample to the customer when the authentication key is verified using aVAN, a POS, an open market seller management system, an ARS, a barcodereader, or the like. In this case, after the franchise provides thesample, the online market settles a predetermined commission for theadvertiser according to a commission policy. The commission may bedetermined based on an issue number of the authentication key generatedby the online market or verified in response to a request forverification from the franchise or based on the number of samplesprovided by the franchise.

As described above, according to the present invention, target customerscan easily receive commercial samples (e.g., agricultural products,cosmetics, groceries, side dishes, home appliances, or any of industrialproducts, agricultural goods, and services of which the samples may berequired by customers) at a desired membership-based offline store usingthe authentication key issued through the advertisement on the web page,without requesting an advertiser to directly deliver the samples. Afterreceiving the commercial sample, the customer may purchase the goods ateither the online market or the offline store when their quality issatisfactory. This can conveniently satisfy needs of customersinterested in the goods.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the online market server 220 that is a webserver for managing a target advertisement according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the online market server 220 according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a controller 410,a buyer information DB 411, a seller information DB 412, a communicationinterface 420, a transaction broker 430, a target advertisement manager440, an authentication key generator 450, a sample receipt authenticator460, an advertising expenditure settling unit 470, and a message sender480.

The controller 410 is a processor for controlling the above componentsof the online market server 220, basically including registration ofgoods by sellers, purchase of goods by buyers, and delivery of paidgoods for shopping mall management. In particular, the controller 410controls to provide the above target advertisement including informationon providing a sample to the web page and to generate the authenticationkey for enabling the customer terminal 230 selecting the targetadvertisement and requesting the sample of the advertised goods toreceive the sample in the franchise.

The seller terminal (i.e., advertiser terminal) 240 may access theonline market server 220 over the network 210, use goods transactionbrokerage service provided by the online market server 220 through wiredor wireless communication using the communication interface 420, and usethe target advertisement service according to the present invention. Theseller may subscribe as a service use customer of the online marketserver 220 using the seller terminal 240. Seller membership information,e.g., a seller ID, a password, contact information, prices of goods,brands of goods, and features of goods registered by the subscribedseller may be stored and managed in the seller information DB 412.Further, the content of the advertisement (e.g., images, videos, and thelike), a target information profile (e.g., sex, age, and terminal accessregion of customers designated as objects to which the sample is to beprovided), and franchise information that the seller registers to usethe target advertisement service may be stored and managed in the sellerinformation DB 412.

The buyer terminal (i.e., customer terminal) 230 may access the onlinemarket server 220 over the network 210 and may use goods transactionbrokerage service provided by the online market server 220 through thewired or wireless communication using the communication interface 420.The buyer may subscribe as a service use customer of the online marketserver 220 using the buyer terminal 230. Purchaser membershipinformation, e.g., a buyer ID and a password for log-in, a residenceregistration number, contact information, an address, cart information,bid goods information, successfully bid goods information, bargaininggoods information, information on paid goods, delivery information,information on purchase determination (receipt confirmation), and thelike that the subscribed buyer registers are stored in the buyerinformation DB 411. In addition, when the authentication key is issuedusing the target advertisement according to the present invention,authentication key information corresponding to the advertisement may bestored and managed in the buyer information DB 411 for free inquiry andverification.

To broker transactions for goods registered by the seller, thetransaction broker 430 may provide the information on goods stored inthe seller information DB 412 to the buyer terminal 230, search forgoods corresponding to a key word such as a name of goods or detailsfrom the buyer terminal 230, and provide a list of the searched goods tothe buyer terminal 230. When a payment for goods selected by the buyeris requested, the transaction broker 430 may provide payment screeninformation for the goods selected by the buyer to the buyer terminal230 and perform the payment through an authentication process.

In particular, the target advertisement manager 440 may provide thetarget advertisement registered by the advertiser, i.e., anadvertisement including information on providing a sample (a targetadvertisement with sample provision) on the web page. The authenticationkey generator 450 may generate an authentication key for enabling thecustomer terminal 230 selecting the target advertisement and requestingthe sample of the advertised goods to receive the sample at an offlinestore, such as a franchise. The authentication key may include Arabicnumerals, a discernible text, or barcode information provided by arandom number generator, and may be transmitted to the customer terminal230 by the message sender 480 so that the authentication key can besubmitted directly using the terminal such as a cellular phone or inprinted form such as a paper at the franchise. Alternatively, theauthentication key may be stored and managed in the buyer information DB411 or the seller information DB 412, and when a membership card issuedpreviously by the online market operator is submitted at the franchise,comparison with the authentication key of the customer may be performedfor sample provision authentication or approval.

When the target advertisement is being provided on the web page of thecustomer terminal 230, the target advertisement manager 440 may transmitfranchise information in a sample application form as shown in FIG. 5provided on the web page of the customer terminal 230 to the customerterminal 230, which has selected the target advertisement and requestedthe sample. When a notification that the sample application form asshown in FIG. 5 has been completed indicating a selected franchise,e.g., a Gangnam station franchise where the customer desires to receivethe sample of advertised goods is received from the customer terminal230, the authentication key generator 450 may generate an authenticationkey. The sample application form may be produced and registered in theseller information DB 412 by the seller (advertiser), or stored andmanaged in another database of the server 220 by an operator. Althoughthe franchise has been selected and notified as shown in FIG. 5, thepresent invention is not limited thereto and the customer may receivethe sample from any franchise in the list, with the franchise selectionfield removed from the form as shown in FIG. 5.

In this case, the authentication key generator 450 may request thecustomer terminal 230 selecting the target advertisement and requestingthe sample to log in, and compare membership information based on log-ininformation from the customer terminal 230 with the target informationprofile managed in the database to determine whether the customer is thetarget customer, such that the sample can be provided only to the targetcustomer, for example, specified by sex, age, or region. Accordingly,when the customer is the target customer specified by the advertiser,the target advertisement manager 440 may provide the sample applicationform to the customer terminal 230 so that the customer fills the formout. A determination as to whether the logged-in customer satisfies thesex, age, or region requirement defined in the target informationprofile may be made based on the membership information, i.e., sex,residence registration number, address, etc. registered in the databaseby the buyer upon subscribing. Here, the region may be determined basedon an Internet protocol (IP) address that has been assigned to thecustomer terminal 230 for Internet use.

Meanwhile, when a request for verification of the generatedauthentication key is received from the franchise terminal 250, thesample receipt authenticator 460 may notify the franchise terminal 250of whether the authentication is successfully performed. When theauthentication key issued to the customer is submitted to the franchise,it can be input using the franchise terminal 250, such as a computerterminal capable of using the Internet, or a VAN, an open market sellermanagement system, a POS, an ARS or a barcode reader connected to theInternet or stand-alone. When the customer submits the membership card,membership information (e.g., log-in information, or online marketmembership information) may be read and transmitted to the online marketserver 220 using the franchise terminal 250. Accordingly, the samplereceipt authenticator 460 in the online market server 220 may comparethe input authentication key or membership information with theauthentication key managed in the database buyer information DB or theseller information DB for authentication or approval.

When the sample receipt authenticator 460 notifies of successfulauthentication and then the franchise provides the sample to thecustomer visiting the franchise and inputs details of sample provisionto the customer to the franchise terminal 250, the franchise terminal250 may transmit a notification that sample provision has been completedincluding the details. Upon receipt of the notification from thefranchise terminal 250, the advertising expenditure settling unit 470may settle advertising expenditure according to a commission policy. Thecommission may be determined based on an issue number of theauthentication key generated by the online market or verified inresponse to a request for verification from the franchise or based onthe number of samples provided by the franchise.

The seller or the franchise may receive an authentication-key issue listscreen as shown in FIG. 6 via the target advertisement manager 440 byaccessing the server 220 using its terminal and requesting the screenaccording to a predetermined process. The franchise may requestverification of the authentication key by inputting the authenticationkey on the authentication key issue list screen as shown in FIG. 6. Whenthe sample receipt authenticator 460 notifies of the successfulauthentication, a predetermined verification flag, such as a marking,may be displayed in a section “authentication key verification.” Whenthe verification flag is displayed in the section “authentication keyverification,” the franchise may provide the sample to the customer. Theseller or the advertiser may confirm issue of the authentication key orprovision of the sample on the authentication key issue list screen asshown in FIG. 6, as well.

The Internet advertisement method according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention will now be described in greater detail withrespect to the flowchart of FIG. 7.

First, a seller or a advertiser may access the online market server 220using the seller terminal (i.e., advertiser terminal) 240 to register,in the seller information DB 412, prices of goods, brands of goods,features of goods, as well as content of the target advertisement (e.g.,images, videos, and the like), a target information profile (e.g., sex,age, and terminal access region of customers designated as objects towhich a sample is to be provided), franchise information (list), and thelike in order to use the target advertisement service (S710). Further,the seller or the advertiser supplies samples to be provided tocustomers (buyers) (e.g., scaled-down samples of large goods or somesamples of objects sold by weight, like agricultural products) tofranchises (S711).

The buyer or the customer browses goods of sellers sold on the onlinemarket server 220 using the buyer terminal 230 (S720). The buyerencounters many advertisements in order to compare goods of interest interms of price, merits, and the like. In particular, the buyer mayencounter the advertiser-registered target advertisement, i.e., anadvertisement including sample provision-related information (a targetadvertisement with sample provision) on the web page (S730).

The target advertisement provided on the web page may includeinformation indicating that the sample can be provided, e.g., “Try asample,” as in a leftmost advertisement of FIG. 8, and the customer mayclick on the advertisement to request the sample (S731). Upon receipt ofthe sample request from the customer, the authentication key generator450 may request the customer terminal 230 selecting the targetadvertisement and requesting the sample to log in, in order to providethe sample only to a target customer, for example, specified by sex,age, or region (S732). The authentication key generator 450 may comparemembership information based on log-in information received from thecustomer terminal 230 with the target information profile managed in thedatabase to determine whether the customer is the target customer(S740). If the customer is not the target customer specified by theadvertiser, the target advertisement manager 440 may send a message,“You cannot receive a sample” to the customer terminal 230. When theadvertiser is the specific target customer, the target advertisementmanager 440 provides the sample application form as shown in FIG. 5 tothe customer terminal 230 so that the customer can fill the form out(S742). Accordingly, the customer may fill the sample application formout by selecting or inputting fields in the form of FIG. 5 using thecustomer terminal 230, and particularly, by selecting a franchise, e.g.,a Gangnam station franchise where the customer desires to receive asample of advertised goods, and transmit a notification that the sampleapplication form has been completed by clicking on a tag “Do you want toreceive a sample?”. Although the customer terminal 230 has selected thefranchise and notified the selected franchise, the present invention isnot limited thereto and the customer may receive the sample from anyfranchise in the list, with the franchise selection field removed fromthe form as shown in FIG. 5.

Accordingly, the authentication key generator 450 may generate anauthentication key for enabling the customer terminal 230 selecting thetarget advertisement and requesting the sample of the advertised goodsto receive the sample at an offline store, such as a franchise (S743).The authentication key may include Arabic numerals, a discernible text,or barcode information provided by a random number generator, and may betransmitted to the customer terminal 230 by the message sender 480 inthe form of response information to be displayed on the web page or inthe form of a text message, such as an E-mail, or a short messageservice (SMS) message, a long message service (LMS) message, or amultimedia message service (MMS) message, so that the authentication keycan be submitted directly using the terminal such as a cellular phone orin printed form such as a paper at the franchise (S744). Alternatively,the authentication key may be stored and managed in the buyerinformation DB 411 or the seller information DB 412, and when amembership card issued previously by the online market operator issubmitted at the franchise, sample provision authentication or approvalmay be performed by comparison with the authentication key of thecustomer.

Meanwhile, after receiving the issued authentication key, the customermay submit the authentication key or a membership card at the franchisein order to receive the sample (S750). Accordingly, the authenticationkey or membership information may be input or read using the franchiseterminal 250 (S751), and a request for verification of theauthentication key may be made (S752). When the authentication key issubmitted by the customer at the franchise, it can be input using thefranchise terminal 250, such as a computer terminal capable of using theInternet, or a VAN, an open market seller management system, a POS, anARS or a barcode reader connected to the Internet or stand-alone. Whenthe customer submits the membership card, membership information (e.g.,log-in information, or online market membership information) may be readand transmitted to the online market server 220 using the franchiseterminal 250.

When a request for confirmation of the authentication key is receivedfrom the franchise terminal 250, the sample receipt authenticator 460may compare the input authentication key or membership information withthe authentication key managed in the database (i.e., the buyerinformation DB or the seller information DB) for authentication orapproval (S753). For example, when the authentication is notsuccessfully performed, a message, “You cannot receive a sample” (S754)may be sent to the franchise terminal 250. When the authentication issuccessfully made, a message, “authentication success” or any otherapproval information may be sent to the franchise terminal 250 (S755).

When the sample receipt authenticator 460 notifies of successfulauthentication as described above, the franchise provides the sample tothe customer (S760). When a franchise clerk inputs details of the sampleprovision to the customer visiting the franchise, e.g., sample provisioninformation as shown in FIG. 6 to the franchise terminal 250, thefranchise terminal 250 may transmit a sample provision completionnotification including the details to the server 220 (S761). Uponreceipt of the sample provision completion notification from thefranchise terminal 250, the advertising expenditure settling unit 470may settle advertising expenditure according to a commission policy andnotify the advertiser terminal 240 of the details (S770). The commissionmay be determined based on an issue number of the authentication keygenerated by the online market or verified in response to a request forverification from the franchise or based on the number of samplesprovided by the franchise.

The functions of the method and system of the present invention can beimplemented as computer-readable code in a computer-readable recordingmedium. The computer-readable recording medium is any recording mediumfor storing data that can be read by a computer system. Examples of thecomputer-readable recording medium include a read-only memory (ROM), arandom access memory (RAM), a compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM), amagnetic tape, a floppy disk, and optical data storage. Alternatively,the medium may be implemented in the form of carrier waves (e.g.,Internet transmission). The computer-readable recording medium may bedistributed among networked computer systems, and the computer-readablecode may be stored and executed in a decentralized manner.

With an Internet advertisement method and system according to thepresent invention, an advertisement in the form of a banner on a webpage of an online market, such as an Internet shopping mall, forenabling selected target customers to receive a commercial sample at amembership-based offline store can be performed, such that a targetinggoods advertisement can be effectively performed, membership-basedoffline stores can be publicized, and increasing visits from customerscan lead to an increase in sales.

With the Internet advertisement method and system according to thepresent invention, a target customer can easily receive a commercialsample using an authentication key or membership card issued through anadvertisement on a web page at a desired membership-based offline storewithout requesting an advertiser to directly deliver the sample, therebyconveniently satisfying needs of customers desiring to purchase goodsafter receiving the commercial sample.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications can be made to the above-described exemplary embodimentsof the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover allsuch modifications provided they come within the scope of the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

I claim:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, from an advertiser terminalof an advertiser by a server, a target information profile of a product,the server comprising a machine having a memory and at least oneprocessor, the target information profile comprising at least onecharacteristic of target users; registering the target informationprofile received from the advertiser terminal in a database of theserver; presenting an advertisement of the product on a webpage to acustomer terminal of a user, the advertisement including an option torequest a sample of the product associated with the presentedadvertisement of the product on the webpage; in response to receiving aselection of the option to request the sample, prompting the user tolog-in to the server via the customer terminal; determining whether theuser qualifies as one of the target users based on a comparison oflog-in information of the user received via the customer terminal withthe target information profile received from the advertiser terminal; inresponse to determining that the user qualifies as one of the targetusers, generating by a random number generator of the server, anauthentication key for enabling provision of the sample, theauthentication key comprising one or more of numerals, text, or barcodeinformation generated by the random number generator; transmitting theauthentication key for display on the customer terminal; storing theauthentication key at a database of the server; receiving a request toverify the authentication key from a franchise terminal machine of anoffline store; performing a verification of the authentication key bycomparing the authentication key with stored verification keys in thedatabase of the server for a match in response to the receiving of therequest to verify; and sending a notification of a successfulverification to the franchise terminal machine in response to theauthentication key being successfully verified, the notificationapproving the offline store to provide the sample to the user.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: determining whether the customer is a targetcustomer includes comparing the target information profile withmembership information based on the log-in information to make thedetermination.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the target informationprofile comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of:sex, age, and terminal access region of customers designated as objectsto which the sample is to be provided.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: registering information on at least one offline store in thedatabase; and providing the offline store information in a sampleapplication form to the customer terminal, the at least one offlinestore being selectable as a desired location to receive the sample ofthe advertised products when the sample application form is being filledout using the customer terminal.
 5. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising: receiving, from the customer terminal, a selection of anoffline store from the sample application form, wherein the generatingand transmitting of the authentication key is in response to thereceiving of the selection of the offline store from the sampleapplication form.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receivingthe request to verify the authentication key via at least one mediumselected from the group consisting of: a virtual area network, an openmarket seller management system, a point of sale, an automatic replyingsystem, a cellular phone, and a barcode reader.
 7. The method of claim1, further comprising: after sending the notification of the successfulverification to the franchise terminal machine, receiving a notificationthat provision of the sample has been completed that includes details ofsample provision to the customer visiting the offline store.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, further comprising: after receiving the notificationof the sample provision completion, automatically settling, by theserver, advertising expenditure according to a commission policy.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the commission policy is determined based onan issue number of the authentication key generated by the server orverified in response to a request for verification from the franchiseterminal machine or based on the number of samples provided by theoffline store.
 10. A system comprising: a server having at least oneprocessor, the server being configured to: receive, from an advertiserterminal of an advertiser, a target information profile of a product,the target information profile comprising at least one characteristic oftarget users; register the target information profile received from theadvertiser terminal in a database of the server; present anadvertisement of the product on a webpage to a customer terminal of auser, the advertisement including an option to request a sample of theproduct associated with the presented advertisement of the product onthe webpage; in response to receiving a selection of the option torequest the sample, prompting the user to log-in to the server via thecustomer terminal; determine whether the user qualifies as one of thetarget users based on a comparison of log-in information of the userreceived via the customer terminal with the target information profilereceived from the advertiser terminal; in response to determining thatthe user qualifies as one of the target users, generate anauthentication key for enabling provision of the sample, theauthentication key comprising one or more of numerals, text, or barcodeinformation generated by a random number generator; transmit theauthentication key for display on the customer terminal; storing theauthentication key at a database of the server; receive a request toverify the authentication key from a franchise terminal machine of anoffline store; perform a verification of the authentication key bycomparing the authentication key with stored verification keys in thedatabase of the server for a match in response to the receiving of therequest to verify; and send a notification of a successful verificationto the franchise terminal machine in response to the authentication keybeing successfully verified, the notification approving the offlinestore to provide the sample to the user.
 11. The system of claim 10,wherein the server is configured to: determine whether the customer is atarget customer by comparing the target information profile withmembership information based on the log-in information to make thedetermination.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the targetinformation profile comprises at least one selected from the groupconsisting of: sex, age, and terminal access region of customersdesignated as objects to which the sample is to be provided.
 13. Thesystem of claim 10, further comprising: registering information on atleast one offline store in the database; and providing the offline storeinformation in a sample application form to the customer terminal, theat least one offline store being selectable as a desired location toreceive the sample of the advertised products when the sampleapplication form is being filled out using the customer terminal. 14.The system of claim 10, wherein the server is further configured to:receive, from the customer terminal, a selection of an offline storefrom the sample application form, wherein the generating andtransmitting of the authentication key is in response to the receivingof the selection of the offline store from the sample application form.15. The system of claim 10, wherein the server is further configured toreceive the request to verify the authentication key via at least onemedium selected from the group consisting of: a virtual area network, anopen market seller management system, a point of sale, an automaticreplying system, a cellular phone, and a barcode reader.
 16. The systemof claim 10, wherein the server is further configured to: after sendingthe notification of the successful verification to the franchiseterminal machine that includes, receive a notification that provision ofthe sample has been completed that includes details of sample provisionto the customer visiting the offline store.
 17. The system of claim 16,wherein the server is further configured to: after receiving thenotification of the sample provision completion, automatically settle,by the server, advertising expenditure according to a commission policy.18. The system of claim 17, wherein the commission policy is determinedbased on an issue number of the authentication key generated by theserver or verified in response to a request for verification from thefranchise terminal machine or based on the number of samples provided bythe offline store.
 19. A non-transitory machine-readable storage mediumstoring a set of instructions that, when executed by at least oneprocessor, causes the at least one processor to perform operationscomprising: receiving, from an advertiser terminal of an advertiser by aserver, a target information profile of a product, the targetinformation profile comprising at least one characteristic of targetusers; registering the target information profile received from theadvertiser terminal in a database of the server; presenting anadvertisement of the product on a webpage to a customer terminal of auser, the advertisement including an option to request a sample of theproduct associated with a selected advertisement of the product on thewebpage; in response to receiving a selection of the option to requestthe sample, prompting the user to log-in to the server via the customerterminal; determining whether the user qualifies as one of the targetusers customers based on a comparison of log-in information of the userreceived via the customer terminal with the target information profilereceived from the advertiser terminal; in response to determining thatthe user qualifies as one of the target users, generating anauthentication key for enabling provision of the sample, theauthentication key comprising one or more of numerals, text, or barcodeinformation generated by a random number generator; transmitting theauthentication key for display on the customer terminal; storing theauthentication key at a database of the server; receiving a request toverify the authentication key from a franchise terminal machine of anoffline store; performing a verification of the authentication key bycomparing the authentication key with stored verification keys in thedatabase of the server for a match in response to receiving the requestto verify; and sending a notification of a successful verification tothe franchise terminal machine in response to the authentication keybeing successfully verified, the notification approving the offlinestore to provide the sample to the user.